Taking a Chance and Betting on YOURSELF with Tina Fuge (Maritime Maids)

This week, we bring on Krystina Fuge, owner and founder of Maritime Maids. Tina was working for a large medical research firm during COVID when she had the urge to do something different and try something new. She saw that the Northern East Coast was missing an interior boat cleaning service in the market, and without any business knowledge or training she jumped right in. In this episode we talk about the huge success Tina has had so far, some struggles she has faced along the way and everything she has had to learn to become a better business owner and leader.

What we're sippin' on:
Jefferson's Ocean

Where to find Tina
Instagram @krystinafuge,  @maritimemaids
www.maritime-maids.com

Transcript

Chris: 0:32

Welcome back everybody. This week you have me, Chris Kellum and my concert co-host Tyler, y'all we bring on a lady of many talents. And what

Tina: 0:42

was your name? I'm Christina Fuge. That's me. I'm the Lady of Talents.

Tyler: 0:48

That's all. No name. Just a Lady of talents. That's the podcast. We're good. Thanks

Tina: 0:53

for coming. Yeah, I own a Maritime Made, it's a yacht cleaning business out of Wilmington and we do interiors of boats. We are now in a couple other locations and growing quickly.

Tyler: 1:03

Very nice. That's awesome. Yeah. And so to keep with the theme we'll

Chris: 1:07

be sipping on today, we are sipping on Jefferson's ocean. Jefferson's oceans, ocean. Yeah. I can't remember where the S is. But it's Jefferson Ocean. It's the Voyage 24. It's actually currently on their website. If you wanna look up the ship's log. This one looks like it ran around the Caribbean. Cool. It's actually really cool cause like the little tags, like they come with little hang tags and tells you kind of about the voyage, what things they went through, what temperatures it was chilling at. Apparently storm Elsa hit it while it was like out at the sea. Interesting. So kind of cool. But yeah, nice and chill. Let's take a. Cheerio. That one's so smooth. Oh

Tyler: 1:44

yeah.

Tina: 1:44

It's very good. It kind of tastes like the Caribbean. I can see that. I'm thinking, I'm thinking about it like a little sweet, you know? It's very

Tyler: 1:49

sweet. Yeah. A little bit like coconut. Yeah. Kind. Taste in it. Warm. Yeah.

Chris: 1:53

Yeah. But before we get into it, Tyler,

Tyler: 1:59

We also got a shout out Sway Here they are doing our Instagram, our other social medias that we're part of right now. They actually just introduced a subscription model so you can go out and subscribe with them and they help you create all of your reels and TOS posts on social media in general, and they. Opened up so much time for us, we can actually focus on more of the podcast as opposed to figuring out what we're gonna post on Instagram. And so if you go and check out their website, sway Creative, we also have promo code now that they just introduced Whiskey. Yeah. Promo code whiskey. Yeah. Easy enough to remember.

Tina: 2:39

That's awesome. That's a good little. Good business there. I might have to look into that

Tyler: 2:43

too. Yeah. Wilmington native as well, so, yeah. Nice. Her and a business partner of hers started it last year and have already gained some pretty good traction. They have a few people that have played in the NFL that they're have lets clients, so. Wow. Yeah.

Tina: 2:55

That's awesome. So doing the reels and stuff. I can take all the footage and put'em together, man, I don't have the time. Exactly.

Tyler: 3:01

Yeah. Never. I never realized too, like as soon as you get like a good video, like how much you actually have to edit it for people to actually watch it. Unreal. It's like we do the Yeah. Things with Chris and Kayleigh over at Starling and we would just do like a four minute like video. Mm-hmm. And if you just post that, you don't get any like watches on it and it's boring to watch four minutes of anything straight. Cuz our attention spans are nothing these days. Yeah.

Chris: 3:24

Yeah. So, So because we're drinking on Jefferson's Ocean, is this one of your favorite

Tina: 3:29

whiskeys? It is one of my favorites. It's a good one. And I like how it, like we said, it has the variety. Mm-hmm. You can have a, everyone is a little bit different, so. Yes.

Chris: 3:37

Cuz Tyler did say he had had it a few years ago and was like, nah, I don't, I'm never gonna try this again. But it's lovely. It's

Tyler: 3:44

totally different. Yeah. Luckily Chris forced me to do it today and this is actually a really good one. So if, if there's one that you didn't like in the past, give him a pass. Try it again. Yes, I agree with.

Chris: 3:54

But it is on brand. Because you are on the ocean. Mm-hmm. At least at port all the time.

Tina: 4:00

Yeah. I'm Marina's, you know, Marina's, boatyards. We work a lot. We we're on the yards too, so we're not always, you know, right in the water, but yeah. You know, it's all, we can see water everywhere we are so Sure. That's awesome. Yeah.

Chris: 4:13

I love. So tell us a little bit more about yourself. Okay. And how you ended up starting this business.

Tina: 4:19

Yeah, so I am originally from Morehead Wall. Actually born in Pittsburgh, outside of Pittsburgh. Came here. Watch,

Tyler: 4:26

watch it. Watch it. I'm from PA as well. Just the other side.

Tina: 4:30

There you go. Yep. Went there or we came here when I was like, in elementary school. Oh, well, came to Morehead City. Okay. That's kind of where all that started with my whole, you know, love of the ocean. Yeah. All things ocean. My first, one of my first jobs was playing fish and Oh no, I working at a fish market. Yeah. So that was fun. And it also taught me so much about just, you know, the industry and the fishing industry and. But yeah, so I came here after Col af I stayed here after college. I worked at P P D. I no longer work at P P D. I'm now fully a business owner. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, as of like last month. Oh yeah. Yeah. So it's big, big news. But worked there for a while. Then you know, I was like, need a little side income. Started cleaning houses on the side for like beach rentals, like Airbnbs and stuff like that in Carolina Beach. And I was like, I feel like I can manage this better. Like, no, it sounds bad, but I was, I was, I was on it. I was like, I can do this. And so I was like, well, where, what am I gonna do that I don't step on someone's toes? Right. Because I did respect the person who I was working for. Mm-hmm. And I didn't wanna get right into like the housing scene. And I also didn't really like dealing with the housing scene. And I was like, what? What's something else? Yeah. So my friend Katie and I actually, she now lives in Tampa. We are, we cleaned a house and we were sitting. Actually the old Gibbs. Oh yeah. Like you're now stoked. Gibbs. Right before we were sitting there having a drink after we cleaned all day, cuz you know mm-hmm. Let's be real. You're cleaning all day, you're gonna need a drink. Exactly. And we were like, oh, it just came to us. I was like, what about boats? And then I kind of used my connections, you know, with back home and Morehead. Also here I knew a bunch of captains, first mates, stuff like that. From just knowing people from Moorhead still, it's a all interconnected community, right? Oh, for sure. And it's so awesome and I can get more into that later. It's just a great community. But yeah, they said, Tina, it's a niche. They don't have anything like it. They don't have anybody they can call. And I said, all right, well let's do it. Let's make that llc. And yeah, it just kind of went from there. Very

Chris: 6:14

nice. Yeah. So, because I'm random. Mm-hmm. And my wife loves watching like the Bravo TV shows

Tina: 6:21

running on their own notes and stuff. Oh, I know where it's going. I don't know

Chris: 6:24

if you do question. Why do you always

Tina: 6:26

take your shoes off? Oh, well, I didn't know where that was going. You got me. I actually just had a post about this the other day. So it's really you know, it's based on the owner. Okay. But since I have girls, and we don't, they don't always talk to the owners like it's me dealing with the owners or it's my, my manager, my lead dealing with the owner. Mm. It is just a natural respect thing to take your shoes off. Okay. And that's just because boats all the time too, like a lot of'em are teak. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And you know, depending on your shoes, you might mess it up if they just washed it too. And it's not teak like, you know, it's just, just a total respect thing. Huh. Inside the boat too. You get a lot of the same thing. I mean, it's, it's getting on the boat but really getting into the boat too. Yeah. You know, like inside the cabin area, definitely shoes off there, but I just tell'em, take it off at the dock cuz. You know, any issues are averted, right?

Tyler: 7:13

Yeah.

Chris: 7:13

Don't have to worry about it. Sorry. That was the randomness

Tina: 7:16

I had. That was good though. And it's so funny cuz I just said, I did an Instagram post the other day and it, cuz like all of our shoes were lined up on by one of the boats. And I was like, first things, first shoes off. So, That's awesome.

Tyler: 7:26

Yeah.

Chris: 7:27

So wait, what did you think? I was gonna ask?

Tina: 7:28

Below deck. Oh yeah. Does it feel, that's what I was thinking. Does it feel like below deck? And It does. We've worked on some actually that were like 115 foot boats, like megawatts. I worked on some St. Lorenzos that have been really, really awesome. And yeah, that was where I had like Phil and STS in a sense. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Where they would like, Hey, can I have like your girls for a couple days while we're port, like while we're here at the marina? Yeah. They might take'em to bald and head'em back. We've had like little trips like that. Oh, okay. And then, and it's really cool to be a part of that. It's a totally different world than doing like the main business I started. I mean, you're getting into a totally different Yeah. Whole realm and it's so cool to be a part of it. That's really neat.

Tyler: 8:05

Yeah. So how was that jump going from full-time p p d into this part-time to maritime mates full-time?

Tina: 8:14

So it wasn't an intentional jump? Yeah. I actually was laid off at P P D. Okay. And a lot of the times too, they hire a lot. I mean, I had been there five plus years. Yeah. And, but they, you know, at the merger, anything like that, they hired and then they hire a lot and they fire a lot. Mm-hmm. And that's just kind of how the business world works. Fell right before my season hit. I had already, people had already been telling me, Tina, it's time, like it's time to do your thing. And I just didn't bite the bullet yet because, you know, we all get comfortable. Mm-hmm. Especially with that nice paycheck coming in and those healthcare benefits. Right. Snatch for those. But yeah, so we were just like, I was like, you know what? I'm not gonna look into anything. I'm gonna use this as like, you know, a blessing and just see where it steers me. And it has been the best unintentional decision I've made. Yeah. Ever. And, you know, and it is still, I guess, a decision cause I didn't jump back in anything else. Mm-hmm. I just needed that extra little, little boost. And honestly, since I've been in full swing, I mean sales have gone up, you know, collaboration has gone up. And that's just because I didn't realize how much I. Devoting to the business when, you know, I thought I was devoting it. Mm-hmm. I totally thought, I was like, oh, I'm giving it my all, like as much as I can. Mm-hmm. But you don't realize how much is still in your head space that you don't really, you know, you're not focusing on really everything, you know, if you have so much going on or something's lacking. And I just didn't realize it was lacking there and it's been a great great eye-opener for. Yeah. That's

Tyler: 9:37

awesome. Yeah. I'm sure you noticed a lot just the, the expansion and the possibilities, just focusing on it

Tina: 10:07

full-time. Huge. And you know, around that time too, I was able to go to some boat shows. I went to the Miami Boat Show, which was wild, super fun. And just the connections there, like obviously those, some of those boats are ones that I won't be dealing with because they have crews. Okay. But it's still the connection aspect. Yeah. And, and being able to go do that and, and have that time you. That there's no restraint on. Like, you know, if I sit down there a couple more days and do some marketing, you know? Mm-hmm. And eventually that's kind of like a long-term goal is to be down there. But, but yeah, it just opened up so many doors. So.

Tyler: 10:39

So I originally met you through what, or not met you, but heard of you through 1 million Cups that they have at the C I E building at U N C W. And one of the things that was really interesting, cause I've gone to those quite a bit, is how excited everyone. Once you presented, so that doesn't always happen. I'm not sure if you've been to any other ones, but they were super excited about the possibilities, so that was really neat and eye-opening. So did you learn anything while you were there or anything that was kind of like mind blowing or just anything

Tina: 11:08

like that there? Yeah, I mean I've, since then I've connected with some really great people in town. Mm-hmm. And that's just also too, because they've reached out to me, you know? Right. And like in, since that time where you. Just been doing the business. It's just been a, you know, whirlwind. Yeah. And so yeah, I'm glad, grateful they came back to me cuz they were like you said, so interested. Mm-hmm. And I could feel the room, like when I was in there, I was like, oh, they're fired up. Like, you know, I was like, I'm fired up now. Like, and I had never really presented my business like that before. Mm-hmm. And and I knew it had some interest, obviously people were like, oh, it's a niche, you know, like Right. You know, and I, I only know of like, really one other person in Florida who really has, has done it. And like no one on this side, like on our side of the, or you know, our side of the East coast Yeah. Up here in the Carolinas has done it yet. So I could just tell that people were like, why didn't I think of that idea? You know? Yeah. Yeah. And yeah. But I've made some really good connections with some, you know, small business attorneys. Mm-hmm. And. I met some good, great people like Greenback. Just really walking me through this process Yeah. That I didn't have. And you know, going into it as I don't have a business degree, I don't have any of that. I just had an idea and I went with it. Mm-hmm. And so I am, you know, as I need all the knowledge and give me all of it. And but yeah, so that was like something that really just. The connections I made that day were incredible and have really helped me put my business to the next level. Mm-hmm. Because I recently got a contract downtown for all the houseboats. I saw that. Yeah. Really? It's B Great contract, huge contract, first commercial contract for my business. Wow. And so I was like, well, I was like, I'm glad I made these connections because I was able to get a contract in place. Mm-hmm. I was able to do all these things that I didn't really, you. Have the people to do that. Mm-hmm. And then since, you know, and then since they realized the legitimacy of my business mm-hmm. And they realized, you know, okay, well this is cool. Like, she knows a lot of people in town. Like this is, like, this is working for her now she's just doing it on her own. Yeah. You know, it just kind of spiked it all and yeah, it, it gave me the perfect, you know, setup for my next steps.

Tyler: 13:06

It was funny sitting in there too. Chris wasn't there, but it was interesting cuz. You kind of brought up like what you were doing and everything, and then won the first questions like, what's your competition look like? And you're like, around here. None. None. And everyone was like,

Tina: 13:18

what? I've had some, I've had some try, yeah. Who have been, well, who have been past workers. Mm-hmm. And and it's just, it's a lot. It's hard getting into a small business in that space too, but it's a niche. So it's like, you know, once you establish relationships, you just, You know, my whole thing is keeping that relationship Yeah. You know, we're, it's a family. Mm-hmm. Like, I wanna make sure they're happy. We're happy. It looks good. We look good. They look good. Yeah. You know, it's, it's all working together,

Tyler: 13:46

but it's, it's similar what you're talking about too, with just building connections. It's almost like the podcast community too, where it may seem like there's a lot of podcasts. It may seem like there's a lot of boats, but it's really, really close-knit operation. Yep. So if someone tries to come in and undercut you somewhere, kind of steal your business, be like, Already dealt with her quite a bit. Like,

Tina: 14:05

what are you talking about? A hundred percent. And it's not all out there too, like, you know, all my stuff and who I deal with, no one knows unless I post their boat. Right. Yeah. But it's, it's just, you know, it's, I like that aspect of it too. Keeps it kind of personal. Yeah, definitely. But yeah, I can see that with the podcast cuz I don't know a lot of, you know, a lot of'em out there and I, but I heard of your guys before. Oh. So I was like, oh, okay, cool. Yeah. I'll go on this one. Yeah, I can see. That's awesome. It seems good.

Chris: 14:27

Interesting thing because like, I was looking earlier and you said, you know Alex.

Tina: 14:33

Yeah. I know a couple people that have been on your podcast. Mm-hmm.

Chris: 14:36

Yeah. And that's crazy because we just, people reach out or we reach out to people, and I don't see a connection until after they've been on and they're like, oh, hey, I know this person and that person, and this person. I was like, huh. I would've never seen the connection. Yeah.

Tyler: 14:50

That's interesting. So what did you go to school for?

Tina: 14:52

Clinical research. Oh, no way. Yeah. That's how you made it at P P D? Yep. Neuroscience, psych, minors. Oh, wow. Whole other aspect of, you know, where I thought I'd be if I followed that path. But I was pre-med and then I went, you know, the clinical thing. Cause they have the program here and it is an awesome program. Now it's seated. It wasn't seated when I was at uw. Oh, okay. But now it's a seated program. Yeah, it's great. It gets you right into that field, and that field is always, always, you know, moving, expanding, but ebb and flow with that career for sure. Oh yeah. Like, like, as you can see with my situation. But, but that's any big pharma or big, you know, Big corporate company. Yeah.

Tyler: 15:28

Interesting. Do you miss it at all or was it definitely a blessing in size? No. Yeah, blessing. Yeah,

Tina: 15:33

full blessing. Like I say that every night before I go to bed.

Tyler: 15:36

That's

Chris: 15:37

awesome. So, cause I'm the king of randomness here. Why did you pick red as your

Tina: 15:42

color scheme? Yeah, so my color scheme has kind of shifted. Okay. Just like any logo shifts, like any, you know, as you go with a business, you kind of realize what things work, what things don't work. You know, don't wanna brand, I'm branding my, my business and my girls without branding it. Mm-hmm. And the red on the docks really pops. True. Yeah. And if there's three girls wearing red tennis dresses like I have on now, they're gonna ask, what are you guys doing? Mm-hmm. You know, what are, who are you, you know, like obviously you're in uniform for something. It was pink at first, but you know, red's a dominant color. Mm-hmm. And I kind of like to keep that you. In, in checking in focus, you know, like we're a business. That means business. Yeah. Yeah. And you know, it just, it has done everything from Eyecatching to, you know, getting all the questions. Mm-hmm. And and it's, you know, I did the maritime, I think red's a little, I guess maybe not maritime, maybe more American, because I do like the blues and the red, but it's, it's variations. So it's like a, like more of a teal blue and red and pink are like really like the. Kind of color scheme. Nice. Just intermingled, but Right. Yeah. You gotta make it stand out, you know?

Chris: 16:51

I mean, red makes sense to me cause I see red and white and I'm like, oh, that has to do. Most likely either with a gang. Just kidding. Uh uh But for real, I always think of like the beach or the ocean. Yeah. Cause I see a lot of scuba people rocking the red and white or like very nautical. Yes.

Tina: 17:07

Very nautical. Yeah. That's what we we actually work a lot, a lot of times with, you know, different scuba companies that go under and clean the boats, like salty dog diving and Oh yeah. Yeah. They're, he's a great guy. And but yeah, but it's funny cuz yeah, their colors are red and they have the little flags that they put out when they're diving. Mm-hmm. So that's new to come. I'm gonna put'em out when we're out there. I got some being made. Yeah. Yeah. That's too cool, huh? Yeah, but they do the flag thing and that's, and it is red and white, so I guess we'll have some red white ones too. Yeah. But it'll, it, it definitely it's like what's going on down there? You know, or in there I guess for

Tyler: 17:36

us understand. Have you always been interested in marketing? Cause it seems like you've just hit that

Tina: 17:41

nail on the head. Yes. So I took marketing classes. I took two marketing classes, like basic ones when I was at U S W and I was like, you know, I was like, I feel like. This is like what I like to do, but you know, how we get my family comes from medical background. Mm-hmm. So I was more, you know, hey we should, you know what, why aren't you going this way? You know, like, yeah. But marketing on a hundred percent, that's one of my favorite parts of this business. And that's just because it's, you know, allows you a little self-expression. It allows you to brand. I love branding. That's like, kind of like the whole. About making this, you know, everybody was excited about it and I think it's cause a lot of to do is with the brand. Yeah. Yep. And how it looks and, and what it, you know, what, you know, vibe it gives off and, you know, and all that good stuff. And so, yeah, that was one of the things that really got me excited and kind of why, you know, I, I think I really wanted to start the business in the first place. It took me a long time to find the name. Mm-hmm. Took me a long time to kind my friend drew the logo. Okay. And yeah. And now we're trademarked. Yeah. Good. But but yeah, so it just took, you know, it's just all that stuff that just really excited me and it helped me get that start too. But there is a lot of it. Marketing's a huge part of your business. Oh yeah. Massive. That's what they

Chris: 18:52

tell me. So random. For those on the visual. She has these cute little coozies that has the logo. It's very like classic like Sailor Jerry

Tyler: 19:01

style. Mm-hmm. That's where I went after.

Tina: 19:03

Yeah. Are you gonna get this as a tattoo? You know what? I haven't really thought about it. This's the only one I have right now. But you know it, let's hit our first mill maybe. There you go. Maybe, maybe I'll keep that as I'll get a tattoo if I can hit some, hit some mu major money on it. I like it. Or some major, you know, I could even do that with like a little tattoo for like a. Big Instagram kind of thing, like qualified. My buddy at qualified captain just hit like a million followers for his account. Oh yeah? Yeah. And so yeah, he always tries to help me out. We, like I said, we all work together.

Tyler: 19:31

Yeah, you got to. Yep.

Chris: 19:32

So yeah, cuz I jumped from place to place working together. Yes. You mentioned that earlier. How did you like, connect with all these captains in like first mates and like people

Tina: 19:43

the. No, but actually that's how we made our connection. So, I mean, you know, we're here having whiskey. Yeah. No, but it, it really was that like, you know, any, like, I remember meeting people at Dockside and then they had boats and then once I really. Once I knew my market, my target market marketing, here we go again. Right. And when I realized that, I was like, okay, well these are the people I need to sought out. Like these are who I need to, to talk to, you know, go to. And then it was just all word of mouth really for a long time. I only do marketing right now a little bit with fisherman's posts and then dynamic digital because I help JD with one of his properties. So I just, you know, it's one of those things where it's, it's great and it's, you know, You know, it was just connecting like that and doing the word of mouth situation. Yeah. And then that captain introduced me to that captain and then, you know, being from Morehead and doing, and I've fished my whole life. Okay. So I go, I've big and been, I've fished in Big Rock, I've done Ladies day. I know, right? Like, yeah. All that fun stuff. That's awesome. So you just make the connections and, and it's like, like we talked about earlier, the podcast community with this community, it's small. Mm-hmm. Like you don't realize how small it is until you're really. And you know, like I still have customers that are great customers here during the tournament season, which really is like April through like end of August, September. Okay. And, and it'll be all from, you know, South Carolina up to Maryland. Oh, wow. And and I usually I, this year I plan on hitting every one, so we'll see. But you know, it just, they go from different place to place. But you're still dealing with the same captains. Yeah. Mm-hmm. So I have, you know, Good clients that are actually really stationed in like Florida. Oh wow. But they are up here all the time during the tournament season, so they know who to call. That's perfect. That's me. There you

Tyler: 21:19

go. That's the way to do it. Yeah. So what's the next big goal that you're kind of focusing towards right now?

Tina: 21:24

So, yeah, we just got the whole contract downtown. Mm-hmm. That's gonna be a heavy hitter in terms of, you know, I had a hire more girls. I had to make sure everything was you. Flawless because it also hit time where I'm gonna be out doing all these tournaments. Right. So that was like, I mean, that's a great goal is to just, to iron that down. So like baby steps on that. But then really my next goal, I kinda, what I just mentioned, was to really get to every tournament this year. Mm-hmm. But big goal. I would love to start, you know, franchising the business. Oh, yeah. And that's kind of been on my mind. And like I said, with the branding thing, people love the brand and they, they, it just, they get excited. Yeah. But, you know, I had to get like a good scalable model ready. I had to see iron out all those details, you know, little things like that. Like yeah, we're just cleaning boats, but there's a lot that goes into it. Oh, yeah. It's specific wood products. It's, you know, like the respect thing with stepping on the boat, you know? Mm-hmm. It's just, it's all that kind of stuff where, you know, you ha there is like a. Operational guideline of how you need to do the job. Mm-hmm. So I had to iron all that down and iron at iron down, you know, financials and all that good stuff. But yeah, franchising would be up there. And there, I forget the other, there's another term for it, but it's not technically franchising. It's like a another form of how someone can do the business in the area. Mm-hmm. But they just. But they still go through me. But I really, I mean, I really wanna focus on my couple that I really started with, my home, my home squads, you know? Yeah. And then everybody else, you know, I just, I want the brand to grow. I love it. That would be my biggest goal is just to see the brand, you know, in California, in France. Like, how cool would that be? Because I, I actually connected with somebody in France and he goes like, can your girls come over here? Like, we have a whole, like a whole big yacht. And they're like, we need people. He does exteriors. He's like, we need girls to do interiors. And I was like, he's like, we'll play for a room and like your flights. And I was like, well, you know, I gotta be careful on this one. Right?

Tyler: 23:12

Yeah. But it's like, that's an

Tina: 23:14

awesome opportunity. Yeah. There's some legalities. Yeah, there's some legalities on that one. But it was just still cool though, that it's. Still like that is still an option. Yeah. Right. And that people are willing, like it is needed. And it is like something that's, it's just so super exciting. And I met him at Miami Yacht Week, so Oh yeah. Yeah. So, or boat show. So it was, yeah, it's just all disconnections. Even in France and we still follow each other on Instagram. He's all always liking my little stuff, you know, so it's like, what up? That's cool. Know. Cool. Yeah.

Tyler: 23:40

It's a good way to always stay in front of the people that you wanna stay in front of. A hundred percent.

Tina: 23:43

Yeah. How

Tyler: 23:44

is it with the hiring process for

Tina: 23:46

you? So I get I get a lot of inquiries through my website. Mm-hmm. And cuz they have is an option on there just to say, like, apply today. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And to become a maritime aid and, It's one of those things where I get a lot of, I actually get a pretty good amount of people that apply there. Oh, wow. Yeah. Or they're friends of friends and you know, they just want a little side gig. Right now, I kind of have people just doing 10 99 s and just working, you know, like when they can work for me. Right. And I don't, I don't, I require a couple shifts a week, you know, just to stay active, keep your mind right. You know? Yeah. But other than that, you know, it's, it's, it's just really people come to me. It is, it's, I do have. You know, an expectation mm-hmm. Of what I expect the girls to do and to, to act like, and you know, I want you them to be cordial and friendly and Absolutely. It's a fun business. Like I wanna keep it fun and light, but also, you know, there is a job to be done. Mm-hmm. So, but yeah, if you know the boating industry, There's always fun to be had. Oh yeah. But yeah, it hasn't really been an issue. I have some great girls right now that are all, a lot of'em are new this year. Okay. I get a lot of shifts every year. Mm-hmm. A lot of times do the college helps. lot of girls from college end up working with me during the summer. Yeah. Just because they have a whole free summer and that's when I need'em the most. Oh, for sure. So, and it's not super seasonal. I still need some during this year too, working with, you know, the marinas and everybody fixing their boats for the next season. Oh yeah. But mainly I need those extra like 10 girls and it just works perfect with the college schedule. So, yeah. Yeah. I'm always hiring everybody. Right. Shout

Chris: 25:13

out. So question cleaning wise. Mm-hmm. Because I've never been cool enough to have someone clean my anything for me. What do you guys like, do. Yeah, like you said, you know, like I obviously you clean the boats, but like what do you do?

Tina: 25:27

Yeah, so I mean, we walk in, there's a process, you know, we go from the back of the boat to the front of the boat. You work from top to bottom and you're just detailing it. Boats have so many little crevices in them and, and, and just places where. Stuff gets like, I don't know if I can. Yeah. Right.

Tyler: 25:44

But yeah, that's

Tina: 25:44

about We get it. Yeah. And it's just everywhere. And like, you know, it's just one of those things where it doesn't look so bad until you get into the nitty gritty and they're like, oh God, this needs a, this needs a deep clean. Mm-hmm. And And yeah, we also like, you know, do stuff with like leather couches. Like, you know, you're getting a lot of like, wear and tear with the doors opening and the sun being on'em. So we do like leather conditioning. Okay. And we're gonna do like teak, like, you know, we do really good products on the wood. We make sure the teak looks good. I can do some tea like reconditioning and all that kind of good stuff. And it's, that's what's you know, specific to that. Gotcha. There's specific products like you can't use you have to use ammonia free products on the windows cause it'll strip the tent. Mm-hmm. Little things like that that just goes into it, but really it, it's, it's like cleaning a house, but it's, it's cleaning a boat. It has a different general liability policy. Yeah. I have to have different policies because we're on the water. So technically it's maritime policies. Oh no, I, yeah. Interesting. So when you get a normal person that, you know, a normal cleaner to come, you know, if they got'em to clean their boat, they technically might not be licensed and insured. So that's kind of where this also has a whole nother spin on why it is a niche, but why it also is, you know, it, it's its own business and its own cleaning, its own, it's its own standalone, you know, category, right? Yeah. And that's just because of the, that whole process.

Tyler: 26:56

That's the, is there certain products that you have to use because you're on the water, even though it's the inside of the boat?

Tina: 27:02

No bleach at all. Okay. You gotta be careful about what you're flushing getting in the water. But yeah, no bleach. I don't, I try to use as really natural products. Oh yeah. I use a lot of method products, Myers products, sorry. Oh yeah. I use Myers. That's, I use Method a little bit too, but they're a little bit more, Myers is more natural. Right. And I do some like self-made stuff We do and, okay. Special secret. You know? Right. And then, but yeah, it's just all natural as much as I can do it cuz you know, we are getting it back into the water. Mm-hmm. And you know, if there's one thing I do, you know, wanna do is, take care of the ocean cuz that's what's provided me with the business. Exactly. For sure. So, and, and you know, we're all out there for that, but but yeah, you gotta be careful what you're putting in the water, but we don't use anything that could ever contaminate or do anything like that in terms of, like bad stuff going to the water. Yeah. But Right. But yeah, and that's like one of our main. Keep it fresh, keep it, all natural.

Tyler: 27:51

Yeah. Yeah. What, what part of the business makes you most excited about it?

Tina: 27:55

Like the actual doing of the business is probably like, honestly, the talking to everybody and making those, I mean, it's fun. Mm-hmm. Like, You know, it's one of those things where we get done with the clean and they're still on the docks, they can hang out. Yeah. You know, red dresses might need a, I don't know. I'm trying to work on that thing, but it's just, it's always a good time and it's always really good people. Mm-hmm. And that's the best thing I like about it. Like, it, it's a family, like I said, and it's so cool. And people care about you. They wanna help you. They wanna see you succeed. Right. And but yeah, so that's probably like the main thing I like about. The cleaning. Yes. It's great. We all, you're right, we all have cleaning, right? I mean, I am a neat freak, so I, I know I go behind the girls and they're probably like, oh my gosh. Like, I'm like, but you know, it's, we're doing a good job and we're trying to do that and, you know, give people the best, you know, what they can get for their money's worth. Yeah. I'm holding that standard. Yeah, a hundred percent. But yeah, that's the, that's the, what I love about the actual job is just, you know, having that constant communication. And I, I did some of that when I had P P D, but not really, like, I love the face-to-face. Yeah. Like, I love going and having lunch and talking about what we need to do and you know, how we need to fix this next time. And, you know, just that, just that communication, that level. Yeah. And I think we lost a lot of that during Covid. Right. And then, you know, and I lost a lot of it. I was working from home. Mm-hmm. And so it kind of sparked that back up. And I started this during Covid, so that's kind of funny. Yeah. But. But I had the time to. Right. But but yeah, that's one. And then the really part about the business is expansion too. The other side of it, like just where this can go, it excites the hell outta me.

Tyler: 29:22

Hmm. For what the big goals that you have coming up, what's something that you would need help with to

Tina: 29:25

get to those goals? So, yeah. And that's kind of what I'm working with right now. I do need some financial backing a little bit. Mm-hmm. And I haven't, I'm, I am in the. As of now, like two and a half years in. Nice. That's fantastic. Yeah, so we are doing good on that front. Haven't taken out a loan, small business loan or anything like that. But that's the next step. So deciding which path is better where it's an investor. Mm-hmm. Whether it's a small business loan something like that. I've been re, you know, looking into that, but we know interest rates right now. Mm-hmm. Gotta love it. So I'm trying to outsource a little on those options. Yeah, certainly. But yeah. But that's, that's probably it. That's

Chris: 29:58

awesome. Just cuz I was like, that's very, I never think about that. Like we always ask people, well Tyler asks people like, what we could do to help you out. Mm-hmm. And I think a lot of businesses don't think too far ahead.

Tina: 30:13

Yeah. And that's, well and that's just seeing what I've seen on how I've started it to how, where it is now to how many people like know who we are and I don't even know them. And they're like, oh yeah, I know you guys and I. Okay. Like, and, and they're in Florida, you know? Yeah. It's just like really cool. And like when you get that, that adrenaline from that and that hype from it, man, you, you see the, you see the opportunity. Yeah. And if you can keep the opportunity at your forefront, you know, it'll take you there. You just gotta keep on your mind. Cool. And yeah,

Chris: 30:44

so Tyler, ask kind of like, what's your next goal? My question would be like, what would you deem, like, what would feel like success?

Tina: 30:55

Success for me current, like the recent, like current goal I guess, or for this year is just honestly, I don't wanna ever have to turn away a client. Yeah. I wanna make sure I'm staffed well to do that. I want people to have a great view and expectation of the business. Mm-hmm. And really let's just get through the year because it's gonna be a wild Yeah, it's gonna be a wild summer because, and it's really the goal, you know, would just be making it to all those tournaments showing up. You know, you can't do sales unless you show up. Mm-hmm. And especially when it's like that tight, tight knit of sales. Mm-hmm. Like that. Mm-hmm. And that tight knit community. Like, you gotta go say, Hey, you know, have breakfast with people, have a coffee. You know, like you gotta keep that even when I'm doing the tournaments too. So that's, yeah, that's kind of on how that, how I feel about all that.

Tyler: 31:42

Interesting. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense though, especially from just what I've seen. It seemed like there was a exponential growth just over the last two years. So yeah, making it through the years probably a huge, yeah.

Tina: 31:51

And I know that sounds crazy to say, but it's really just, you know, taking the hits and highs and lows as they come. You know, I'm still learning everything. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Like I said, I never. I never saw myself doing this at all, but now I can't see myself not doing it. Yeah. And and it's one of those things that, you just, you get through it day to day, and you just, you, you hope that, you know, I hope too, I'm, leading, leaving an impact on the people we meet and also on the girls that I hire. I wanna keep, I want them to go leave outta here, you know, leave this job with like a sense of, purpose and self-respect, self. Job respect, employer respect. Mm-hmm. And that's a big part of it too. And if I can leave there with, you know, if I can leave a go through a year and have that kind of like, relationships and, and have people get out of it, what I would love them to, that's success too. That's great.

Tyler: 32:40

Nice. What was one of the biggest obstacles you had to overcome?

Tina: 32:43

Oh, let me think about this. Probably. When I first, cuz I like, cuz I wasn't a business owner, it was probably doing the hiring. Mm-hmm. Like, and getting people to work for me and be like, trust me, I'm not like crazy. You know, like, I'm like, I know this all is like a whirlwind, but just trust the process. Yeah. That was the hardest part. And just, you know, learning all those terms and everything that has to do with that. Mm-hmm. I still don't know what I'm doing sometimes, you know, and I think that's the fun part of it. Right. But it would be learning all of that and, and the hiring and just, just getting people to understand my vision. And that's, I think we, everybody struggles with that, right? Absolutely. Like, you know, we have this vision and if I, you know, I always say like, if I could hire like 20 of me, but that's not how it is. So you have to be a teacher. Mm-hmm. You know, and you have to teach them what you want and, and how to do it. And but yeah, that's probably the biggest obstacle. And I'm still taking some classes now on, becoming a better leader and becoming a better manager and boss. And I think you. They can only grow if I grow. Yeah. And that's something that, I put high on the totem pole of what I wanna, I wanna be the leader that they, deserve. Mm-hmm. And I didn't have any of that pre, previous knowledge before. I mean, I've did, I've, I've always been like outgoing and like, you know, done my side hustles. I've always had more than one job. Yeah. Like, I've always been like a, I guess in a sense, like a type of leader. Mm-hmm. But not when I'm actually leading. My employees, you know? Right. And that's a, that's been an obstacle, but an awesome experience. It's fantastic

Tyler: 34:12

that you already realized that so early on in your business too. I have a performance coach that that's what he always talks about. He was like, if I'm not constantly learning, I can't. Consistently teach to get the people that follow me, they get my employees to reach that next level too. So That's fantastic. You're doing

Tina: 34:28

that percent. Yeah. And I learned that from a coach too. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I did a little coaching class and it, and it's so crucial. Like, they say, you're never, you, you can read books and all that and it's great. But really sitting there and having like a coach like that mm-hmm. And listening into like a mentor and, and, and just be like, click, that's me. Oh, that's me too. That's also me. Yeah. And it's just like, It, it, it moves you in different ways and reading, like a book or something like that. And like, that's why these podcasts are great too. Absolutely. Because they're, they're real and they're on, and, you know, it's like a, it's a real situation and a real response, Oh, for sure. And but yeah, that, that was a cool, the coaching thing was great. That's good. It was a, it really put my mind, especially I did it right also after I just started doing this full-time. Mm-hmm. So it really put me into like the right, mindset and mindsets crucial.

Tyler: 35:14

And so we are starting to come up our time a little bit here. So I do have a last question for you. So, if you were to tell your younger self one thing, what would it be?

Tina: 35:22

Oh man. Honestly, the same thing I kind of still tell myself today is just go with it. Roll with the punches. Take the chance. Like, I mean, it wasn't even a chance. Like it, think about like the outcome in terms of if I lose$150, cause I started an l. Okay. You know? Mm-hmm. But do that option that you know you've been wanting to do and or that, that idea you've been wanting to have flourish it, like make it flourish, yeah. Try it. You have all the time in the world and it could be the next best, best thing for you. And you don't even know until you, until you put yourself out there. I used to always be like, like, kind of like the job thing, like on one track. Mm-hmm. Not listen to all the tracks, you know? Yeah. play'em all. Try it. That's kind of my Go ahead. You know, how I, how I feel about that and life's too short. Yeah,

Tyler: 36:07

I like it. I love that. Yeah. Different from everyone else too, so I appreciate

Tina: 36:10

it. Try to, try to be optimistic too, you know. Yeah. It's kind of an optimistic career like now that I have, and it's a fun thing and you just gotta stay optimistic. That's great. For

Chris: 36:19

sure. Where can people like keep up with you guys or reach out if they want to hire some?

Tina: 36:23

Yeah, so we have a website it's maritime-maids.com. Okay. On there gives you a lot of, like some of our pricing. Mainly our pricing though is custom quotes for every boat. Mm-hmm. That's like our slogan. Yeah. And that's just, getting with me are one of the leads in the areas and and those are all listed on there as well. And just like, reaching out, saying this is like the layout we got, all that stuff. Custom. Mm-hmm. But we do have like packages for like linen services. We do like laundry services. Okay. And carpet cleanings and stuff like that. We also, like, I kind of wanna get in eventually to like the staging of some boat shoots mm-hmm. To where, you know, they're listing'em for sale. I think that'd be fun. Yeah. But yeah, the website, Instagram is great at Maritime Maids is our Instagram handle. It's, it's getting big up there. We're trying to post stuff more and more, like I said. Yeah. That, that is the best thing to do. Instagram is awesome. Mm-hmm. But yeah. And then we're also on Facebook, but shout us out. give us a shout out on or not. Shout out. Shout out. Come talk to us on Instagram. Yeah, I'm always on there doing my thing, but yeah, that's

Tyler: 37:19

fantastic.

37:20

For

Chris: 37:20

sure. Well just wanna say thank you, Tina. Yeah. Thank you guys. All serious. Thank

Tyler: 37:25

you.

Tina: 37:25

I know I did get a little serious.

Tyler: 37:27

Got real businessy Real quick. I know

Tina: 37:30

I should like drink some more of this real quick.

Chris: 37:32

Please do. You said after you've had it a little bit, do you still like it? Oh yeah. What do you think,

Tyler: 37:37

Tyler? I'm definitely willing to give it another chance again, so I'm, I'm much more happy with this one. Yeah.

Chris: 37:44

I feel like this is the Voyage 24, so it's a little bit smoother. It's definitely

Tina: 37:48

smooth, yes. Like, yeah, it's definitely smoother and sweet.

Chris: 37:52

Remind to me cuz I always think of things like once it connects to, this would be like a summertime or like a a hot spring whiskey where I'm like, I only drink whiskey. We'll try this. Yeah. Because you're not gonna feel that like heavy burn like you do on a normal like rye or something

Tyler: 38:08

like that. I agree. This is just nice. I love a good rye though. I know. See

Chris: 38:11

that's my favorite. I think every rye has its place in time. I, I'm just yes and no. Yeah.

Tyler: 38:19

I was like,

38:19

that

Tina: 38:19

was beautiful. Yeah. Very

Tyler: 38:21

eloquent, Chris. Yeah,

Chris: 38:23

that's what I'm here for. But thank you for coming

Tina: 38:25

on. No, thank you guys. This was

Tyler: 38:26

awesome.

Chris: 38:27

Yeah, it was fun meeting you and learning quite a bit about your company. So everybody just definitely check her out on our socials. We'll be posting it in our show notes as per usual. Leave us a like, comment five star. If you got any questions about whiskey or what you should drink next time, ask that guy

Tyler: 38:44

like, cheers. Cheers. Cheers.

Tina: 38:48

Yeah.